1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test apparatus and method which can comprehensively and simultaneously test the functions and performance of a plurality of radio communication terminals of various types of communication systems (e.g., W-CDMA, CDMA, GMS, PDC, PHS, and the like) and, more particularly, to a test apparatus and method for a radio communication terminal, which adopt a technique that can selectively execute simultaneous (parallel) measurement of a plurality of radio communication terminals of an identical type of communication system, simultaneous (parallel) measurement of a plurality of radio communication terminals of different type of communication systems, simultaneous (parallel) measurement of a plurality of different measurement items of at least one radio communication terminal having various types of communication systems, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional test apparatuses that test radio communication terminals of various types of communication systems, “Radio Communication Analyzer Suited for Measurement of Plurality of Types of Digital Communication Systems” disclosed in patent references 1 and 2 (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,067 and 6,243,576) are known.
More specifically, in these test apparatuses, each of modulation means, demodulation means, analysis (measurement) means, and the like comprises hardware components such as a RAM that rewritably stores a program, a CPU that executes the program, and the like.
In these test apparatuses, programs suited to various types of communication systems are prepared. A program with the contents corresponding to the communication system of a radio communication terminal to be tested is imported to each rewritable RAM, and is executed by each CPU, thus testing many types of radio communication terminals by fewer hardware resources.
In the test apparatus of this type, various measurement and test items of a radio communication terminal to be tested must be tested, and are roughly classified into performance measurement items and functional test items.
As a conventional test apparatus which makes modulation accuracy measurement, adjacent channel leakage power measurement, occupied frequency bandwidth measurement, power measurement, frequency measurement, and the like as performance measurement items, Radio Communication Analyzer Having Collective Measurement Transmission Test Items” disclosed in patent reference 3 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,797) is known.
Note that functional test items include a call processing test that checks if a radio communication terminal to be tested can be connected and released between base stations within a predetermined standard range by a predetermined protocol.
Respective manufacturers who manufacture the aforementioned radio communication terminals (to be referred to as “terminals” hereinafter) such as a mobile station of various type of communication systems must reorganize manufacturing processes effective for terminals to be manufactured in accordance with market demands and technical progress (for example, according to patent references 1 and 2 above, communication systems of PDC, PHS, and GSM were mainstream, but CDMA-related communication systems were in a developmental stage back then).
To this end, the test apparatus which tests terminals of various types of communication systems is required to comprise test/measurement functions and arrangements that can cope with various reorganizations of the manufacturing processes.
Upon implementing the test/measurement functions and arrangements that can cope with such reorganization of the manufacturing process, it is important to cope with reorganization to have flexibility in terms of test resources, time, and manufacturing process organization.
In the aforementioned prior art, it is required to quickly test a plurality of terminals of an identical type of communication system, and to simultaneously test a plurality of measurement items.
Also, in the aforementioned prior arts, it is required to nearly simultaneously test a plurality of terminals of different type of radio communication systems, and to test a terminal which can make communication using a plurality of type of communication systems.
In such cases, since a radio communication terminal based on a cellular system must switch base stations when it roams, the terminal must undergo a hand-over test that tests this function using two test apparatuses.
In the prior art, upon conducting tests such as an interference measurement that generates an interference signal from test apparatuses to a radio communication terminal, and the like, it is required to prepare many test apparatuses, and to make measurements by combining these apparatuses.
Upon testing a radio communication terminal, in the call connection test, hand-over test, and the like, it is required to check if a response time or the like falls within a predetermined range specified by the standard.
However, since the prior art require many test apparatuses, much effort is required to adjust the control instruction timings and to synchronize these test apparatuses.
Therefore, the prior art do not consider any test system which can simultaneously execute various tests of one or a plurality of radio communication terminals of various type of communication systems, and it is difficult to provide a test apparatus which can effectively cope with various test patterns or various manufacturing processes required for terminals of various communication systems.